Vintage Racing?

[BruceinGa]

Originally Posted by irv

Wow! I assume that was a non sanctioned event or an event to showcase dragracing?

Yes. It was March, 1969 at Yellow River Drag Strip, just east of Atlanta. Houston Platt loses control while racing Don Nicholson. I took the pic with a Polaroid camera.

[Cliff Bowman]

Originally Posted by BruceinGa

Yes. It was March, 1969 at Yellow River Drag Strip, just east of Atlanta. Houston Platt loses control while racing Don Nicholson. I took the pic with a Polaroid camera.

I had never heard of this incident until you mentioned it here, even though I've been living in the Atlanta area over 30 years. So, out of curiosity I researched it some. To this day it is still the worst US racing disaster. Just a few clarifications: Huston Platt was racing Frank Oglesby, who was driving Don Nicholson's car, a Cougar. At the 1,000-foot mark, Platt heard a bang and let off the throttle and deployed the parachute. As this happened, an idiot in the crowd ran out onto the track to retrieve a beer can and was killed instantly when he was hit by the parachute. The impact to the parachute caused the car to veer wildly into the crowd, killing ten more people, injuring 40 more. One of the injured died a few days later in an Atlanta hospital, bringing the death total to 12.

[BruceinGa]

Originally Posted by Cliff Bowman

Huston Platt was racing Frank Oglesby, who was driving Don Nicholson's car, a Cougar. At the 1,000-foot mark, Platt heard a bang and let off the throttle and deployed the parachute. As this happened, an idiot in the crowd ran out onto the track to retrieve a beer can and was killed instantly when he was hit by the parachute. The impact to the parachute caused the car to veer wildly into the crowd, killing ten more people, injuring 40 more. One of the injured died a few days later in an Atlanta hospital, bringing the death total to 12.

At the race we assumed it was Nicholson because his name was on the car. As you can see by my photo no one was retrieving a beer can, they were just over the fence so they could get a better view. I have newspaper clippings that state 20+ were killed that day and several others died later.
Maybe I don't remember correctly, I'll check into that.
It took me an hour to find the newspaper clippings. I was wrong, 11 died that day. It's odd that you get something in your mind and you could swear that it was right, until you see it in writing.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by BruceinGa

At the race we assumed it was Nicholson because his name was on the car. As you can see by my photo no one was retrieving a beer can, they were just over the fence so they could get a better view. I have newspaper clippings that state 20+ were killed that day and several others died later.
Maybe I don't remember correctly, I'll check into that.
It took me an hour to find the newspaper clippings. I was wrong, 11 died that day. It's odd that you get something in your mind and you could swear that it was right, until you see it in writing.

I can sure relate to that. Memory does funny things to you when you try to retrieve it 40 years later. However, when researching and writing my book on postwar regional baseball cards of 1947 - 1971, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, I painstakingly checked and double-checked facts of all sorts, taped interview transcriptions, and so on----to get it right! A few times I was annoyed to discover I didn't remember "it" as it actually was, and the correction was made in time! So far, I've only found two typographical errors, which still enraged me, but then I had to console myself over the fact it's 478 pages in length. For those with tendonitis in their wrists, they will enjoy an E-book on a CD, as opposed to a heavy book to hold!

Don't feel bad, bro. The tragedy you've been recounting was flat-out bad, and in a disturbing way, parallels the '55 LeMans catastrophe in that spectators were jammed to the edge of the fence to get a better view. Looking directly right from where they were, they could see the speeding cars, for a few seconds, coming right at them....., just as the gentleman with the camera was, whose amazing footage was loaded up on You Tube, and linked here.

---Brian Powell